'I Invented Gay Pop'

The hit single Fast Car, recently rediscovered at the 2024 Grammys due to Luke Combs' performance, was originally written by Tracy Chapman in 1988. Although she never announced her sexuality, her first public relationship was with author Alice Walker and she has been in a relationship with a woman since 2010. She is a queer icon to many.

77-year-old Elton John ended his last tour in Stockholm, Sweden last summer. He has never stopped advocating for AIDS/HIV awareness and hasn’t stopped making music. He is married to David Furnish and has two sons. He first came out as bisexual and later came out again as gay, destigmatising the idea that sexuality is fluid. He is a gay pop star.

What about younger artists? Who is the new generation of queer musicians? More and more queer artists are rising in the charts and as women are finding their space in the industry so are queer women. Many people think of the alternative pop Norwegian singer Marie Ulven, known as Girl In Red, when thinking of gay pop and to say she didn’t pave the path for younger artists today would be incorrect. Many of her songs became viral on TikTok in 2019 for being so openly gay and finally giving young lesbians a song to relate to, some sort of an anthem. At the same time, many other queer songs were starting to surface and this ‘girl in red’ effect was gaining traction. She by Dodie, Hit the Back by King Princess, I Wish by Hayley Kiyoko, and many other songs by L Devine, Halsey, Kehlani, MUNA, Princess Nokia, and Arlo Parks gained recognition as songs about sapphic love.